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AbCellera breaks ground on new Vancouver HQ as it plans to hire hundreds (BETAKIT)
The move follows the NASDAQ-listed firm’s December initial public offering (IPO), through which it raised $555.5 million USD in gross proceeds in the largest ever-IPO for a Canadian biotech.
Digital health start-up Kry triples valuation to $2 billion in new funding round (CNBC)
Existing investors including Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Index Ventures and Accel also backed Kry’s latest round.
Online pharmacy startup Capsule passes $1B valuation (MED CITY NEWS)
Capsule, an online pharmacy startup that offers same-day prescription delivery, raised $300 million in funding. It plans to use the funds to build out an online marketplace for digital health solutions.
Here’s why M&A activity is surging in Canada’s tech sector (BETAKIT)
BetaKit spoke to key members of the Canadian innovation ecosystem to determine why M&A activity is up, and where it’s going.
Physician enablement company Privia Health pops in public debut with outsized IPO (FIERCE HEALTHCARE)
Privia Health had priced 22.4 million shares at $23, with the aim of raising approximately $516 million. The new share price would boost that to $778.4 million.
New venture studio Launchit Ventures wants to help entrepreneurs commercialize Canada’s next “fantastic” healthtech idea (BETAKIT)
The venture studio plans to partner with people who have great healthtech ideas but need additional support and expertise to commercialize them.
Caresyntax hauls in $100M to expand its surgical data analytics business (FIERCE HEALTHCARE)
Caresyntax’s enterprise products collect surgical data from inside of the operating room and through other sources such as medical devices, imaging or an organization’s electronic health record system.
New report shows Montréal tech caught up to Toronto in 2020 (BETAKIT)
Venture funding in Montréal reached an impressive $1.15 billion in 2020, solidifying the city as one of the top startup ecosystems in Canada, only just behind Toronto.
CVS Health eyes early stage companies with $100M digital health fund (MOBIHEALTHNEWS)
The fund plans to target disruptors in the digital health space that focus on making healthcare more accessible, affordable and simple.
Large deals fuelled Calgary’s healthy 2020, but Western Canada could have an early-stage funding problem (BETAKIT)
Hockeystick tracked four deals under $250,000 in 2019 and 2020, indicating an early-stage gap.
AI caught a hidden problem in one patient’s heart. Can it work for others? (STAT NEWS)
But the more AI begins to look like a miracle for one patient, the more that miracle must be questioned on behalf of all the rest.
To become more diverse, cybersecurity experts say the industry needs more mentors and problem solvers (BETAKIT)
The current approach isn’t enough to foster the diversity – or scale – necessary to fill the estimated 3.5 million cybersecurity job openings globally in 2021.
Caring for backs, lungs: Kaia Health raises $75M Series C (CRUNCHBASE)
The company also launched its COPD treatment during the first days of the lockdown in New York.